Bon Jovi rehearsed for their This House Is Not For Sale Tour at Uncasville's Mohegan Sun Arena, and they returned there on April Fool's Day for a proper show. Here's what was played:
Set list: Uncasville, CT, USA - Mohegan Sun Arena - 1 April 2017
This House Is Not For Sale
Knockout
You Give Love a Bad name
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Roller Coaster
We Weren't Born to Follow
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
We Got It Going On
Who Says You Can't Go Home
It's My Life
We Don't Run
God Bless This Mess
Scars on this Guitar
Lay Your Hands on Me
Born to Be My Baby
Have a Nice Day
Bad Medicine
Keep the Faith
Encore:
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer
Apparently the venue has a strict curfew, but nevertheless, it was a very short set with no surprises. (Previous shows there have also been short, but in the past, they've often thrown a bone to the diehards anyway. Not so much this time.)
There were actually two songs that were on the printed set list and crossed out. One was the song after "Scars on this Guitar", which I presume (based on other shows) was either "The Devil's in the Temple" or "New Year's Day". The other was the first song in the encore, which I'm guessing was "Raise Your Hands".
If you'd like to share any videos from Uncasville, feel free to link to them in the comments.
Were you at this show?
UPDATE 04/04/17: After I posted this, some videos of "This House Is Not For Sale" from this show were posted online, causing an uproar over possible lip syncing. You can view the discussion thread on JoviTalk. Basically there was a studio version of the song playing during the live performance, that went out of sync with the band:
Given he's always going on about integrity, the idea that Jon could be lip syncing a song that should sit comfortably in his current range would break my heart (particularly when he doesn't even sing the higher parts of the chorus; the rest of the band does). It would hurt more than the thought of his once good voice being gone forever. But... if he were lip syncing, they would only need a vocal track, not the full band. And they'd use a recording that sounded live, not a studio version.
Jon's brother, Matt Bongiovi, provided this explanation on Twitter:
— Matthew Bongiovi (@TheMattBongiovi) 4 April 2017
In case the image doesn't load, it reads:
"Sound Crew recorded soundcheck so the lighting crew can reset lighting marks. They were able to reset timecode to the recording and reprogram lights. The recorded program was not closed so when the lighting ques started the soundcheck started to play over the band performing. Therefor a cluster fuck of sound. They quickly realized program was closed and the show went on. Nothing to do with background tracks or vocals or anything other then a tech that fucked up" (sic).
Jon Bon Jovi reflected on the ups and downs of the tour this year and paid tribute to Phil X in his speech following Wanted Dead or Alive at Mohegan Sun.
Bon Jovi scraped through a potential PR disaster overnight with the late cancellation of the opening show of the Because We Can tour. The show at Mohegan Sun was set to kick off the widely anticipated tour, but with a severe blizzard in Connecticut, a state of emergency declared and driving bans in place, there was no way most of the ticket holders were going to get to the concert unless they'd somehow had the foresight and finances to arrive at the resort almost two full days beforehand.
Still, reports for most of the day were that the gig was going to take place as planned with no refunds offered to those who couldn't make it. Which would have been both greedy (Fans have already paid the money) and irresponsible (There are always people who are willing to risk their lives, not to mention a fine or jail time for driving during a ban, just to see their boys). The worst snowstorm in over three decades would have been a small gust of wind compared to the shitstorm Bon Jovi was facing if common sense hadn't prevailed, and I'm not sure even the band's most super-ardent defenders could have saved them from that.
Luckily, the right decision was made in the end, even if it took a lot of social media raging to get there. The concert was rescheduled for October 25, 2013 and Bon Jovi performed a free gig for the approximately 2000 people who had managed to get to the venue. And the big kahuna himself, Jon still came out looking like the good guy after being cast as the villain for most of the day.
The set for the free show was as follows:
Uncasville, CT, USA - Mohegan Sun - February 9, 2013
You Give Love a Bad Name
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
That's What the Water Made Me
Because We Can
Wild is the Wind
It's My Life
What About Now
When We Were Beautiful
We Got It Goin' On
Keep the Faith
Amen
The Fighter
Someday I'll be Saturday night - acoustic
Army of One
We Weren't Born to Follow
What's Left of Me
Wanted Dead or Alive
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
Encore:
Livin' on a Prayer
Oh, and Washington DC... You're now officially the first stop on the Because We Can tour. ;)
A couple of videos of new songs from the free concert:
Bon Jovi's new album What About Now will be unleashed onto the world on March 8, 2013. You can pre-order the album on iTunes from February 12, which comes with an instant download of the title track. Here's a list of the official release dates in different markets:
Australia March 8
Austria March 8
Belgium March 8
Canada March 12
Denmark March 11
Finland March 13
France March 11
Germany March 8
Ireland March 8
Italy March 12
Japan March 13
Norway March 8
Netherlands March 8
New Zealand March 11
Poland March 11
Portugal March 11
South Africa March 15
Spain March 12
Sweden March 13
Switzerland March 8
UK March 11
USA March 12
Meanwhile, it looks like the Because We Can Tour will kick off in Connecticut at Mohegan Sun on February 9 as scheduled -- blizzards, state of emergency and all. They are streaming the first 30 minutes live on BonJovi.com from 8pm New York time (pre-show from 7:30). No word on whether any ticket holders who can't physically get to the show will be offered a refund but I suspect not if the show does go ahead.
Jon rests a fan's JBJ and Richie Sambora dolls on his guitar during Wanted.
To David Bryan: "No that's not you! It's me!" Poor Dave! :P
Who Says You Can't Go Home (partial)
Why the heck would I put Who Says, I hear you ask! Well, it's less for the song and more for the funny moment where Jon stops the song in the middle to have a chat to event security guard Troy about how women stick their boobs in his face trying to take photos. Everyone is out of time when Jon tells the band to resume the song from the second chorus, but he doesn't give anyone the Infamous Stink-Eye. ;)
I'll Be There For You
Filmed from the pit (i.e. from behind Jon) as Jon is out on the platform. Additional lyrics (I think -- corrections welcome as always):
I'll be there for you
If you want me to
I'll be the air for you
I'll do anything
Well, I'll be there for you
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah
Oh, I'll be there for you
If you want me to be
Through this driving rain
I'll take the weight of the world off your shoulders
Just call
Just call my name
Just tell me, my friend, that you'll be comin' back again
And I'll be there
I can hear you
Let me hear you
Let me hear you sing!
I guess Have a Nice Day is considered fairly mediocre in many circles, but it's an album that means a lot to me personally so it's been good to see this played semi-regularly since The Circle Tour, even if I'm not 100% sold on it as an opener, and there are other HAND songs I prefer.
The last time Bon Jovi played at Mohegan Sun, on March 4 this year, they certainly dished up a shockingly diehard-centric show but I don't think we were expecting anything quite so extraordinary this time around.
Uncasville, Connecticut, USA - Mohegan Sun Arena - May 7, 2011
Last Man Standing
We Weren't Born To Follow
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
Superman Tonight
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
It's My Life
The More Things Change
We Got It Going On
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover]
Lay Your Hands On Me
(You Want To) Make A Memory
What Do You Got?
I'll Be There For You
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Who Says You Can't Go Home
In These Arms
Livin' On A Prayer
Encore:
So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star [The Byrds cover]
Have A Nice Day
Blood On Blood
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Check Hath's Circle Tour Blog for all the video links when they come.
We’re collecting submissions from all local bands who’d like the chance to open Bon Jovi’s show! All you need to do to enter are the following 2 steps:
1. Pick your band’s BEST performance video, and post it on YouTube. The video must be from a LIVE CONCERT performance, and must include your 2 BEST ORIGINAL SONGS.
2. Send us the link to your band’s video on YouTube.
The deadline for entries is April 12, 2011. Click here to find out more about how the competition works, and the rules.
First up, I'd like to apologise for being late with these; blame it on a combination of work and, in the last couple of days, being unable to login to the Blogger dashboard from my usual browser. I'm typing this from IE right now, which is not something I like to do by choice. :P
Anyway, I promised a video showcase and it's time to deliver. I'm glad there's this break in the tour at the moment or I'd be even further behind. ;) Without further ado, here's a bunch of videos from Bon Jovi's amazing set in Uncasville on March 4, 2010.
The Radio Saved My Life Tonight
Surprising choice for opener, but I dig the song.
Thorn In My Side
The twin solo at the end just takes the song to another level every time. Sure, I'm biased because I loved The Circle from the start, but it's the live performances of "Thorn", along with "Love's the Only Rule", that convinced me that Jon gave up on the album way too easily.
Wild in the Streets
Some people were just about bursting blood vessels over the decision to let Bobby Bandiera take the solo on this. Thoughts?
I Got The Girl
This song is roundly hated but I don't mind it... Crush isn't a favourite album of mine, but when I think about it, there are really only two songs on it that I particularly dislike and this isn't one of them. I enjoyed the little jam at the end too.
In These Arms (David Bryan vox)
I ALWAYS love hearing Dave sing.
Superman Tonight (acoustic)
I absolutely adore the unplugged version of this. The touch of violin from special guest Lorenza Ponce worked nicely here.
Living in Sin
Ah, the forgotten New Jersey hit (it was one of five top 10 hits from that album, and the only one that didn't make the recent Greatest Hits).
Hey God
This was my favourite song at one point. It's now slipped down the list a bit but it's still comfortably in my top 10, so it's always great to see this pop up in a set.
Holy frick. I'm floored. I don't know what was in the Uncasville water and I'm still not 100% certain this is not some kind of elaborate hoax, but let me say I was NOT expecting this from Bon Jovi. Behold...
Uncasville, Connecticut, USA - Mohegan Sun Arena - March 4, 2010
The Radio Saved My Life Tonight
We Weren't Born to Follow
Lost Highway [feat. Lorenza Ponce]
Whole Lot of Leavin' [feat. Lorenza Ponce]
Thorn In My Side
Wild in the Streets
I Got The Girl
The More Things Change
Summertime [feat. Lorenza Ponce]
Blaze of Glory
In These Arms [David Bryan on lead vocals]
Superman Tonight [acoustic, feat. Lorenza Ponce]
Living in Sin
Who Says You Can't Go Home [feat. Lorenza Ponce]
You Give Love a Bad Name
It's My Life
Wanted Dead or Alive [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Bad Medicine
Livin' on a Prayer
ENCORE:
Hey God
Raise Your Hands
The bar has sure been raised for the return to Madison Square Garden. Hath & Co will have all the videos up on the Circle Tour blog in due course.
A few other videos from Uncasville, namely "Never Say Goodbye", "Miss Fourth of July", "Radio Saved My Life Tonight", "Hot Legs" and "Squeeze Box" were posted earlier.
LAST MAN STANDING - I think I'd prefer this a bit further down the set (I really love "Happy Now" as an opener), but it's still cool to see it played.
WORK FOR THE WORKING MAN - I know Jon's a hypocrite to sing about the "working man" while pricing him out of concerts. But I've still liked this song since I first heard it at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. And that Jon/Richie/Hugh/Bobby walk during the bridge (from about 2:07 in the video) is pretty damn cool.
HAVE A NICE DAY - I wouldn't yet call this a "rarity" but this is the first tour since Have a Nice Day came out where this song hasn't been staple. It's actually my personal favourite out of the so-called "It's My Life"-esque lead singles, although I've seen better performances of it. :P
Selected videos from Bon Jovi's two nights at Mohegan Sun Arena on March 26 and March 27. Nice to see some box set representation and some mixing up of the covers.
And here's a review by Kristina Dorsey for The Day:
Oh, it's so quaint, all those stories about the music industry being in trouble. Because here's Bon Jovi - dismissed as a disposable hair band, lo, those 25-some years ago when they began - hitting No. 1 with their latest album and still working it as one of the top concerts acts out there.
"Last Man Standing" made its tour debut in the opening slot and "Miss Fourth of July" also got its first outing of the Circle tour at Bon Jovi's second show in Connecticut.
UNCASVILLE, USA - MOHEGAN SUN ARENA - MARCH 27, 2010
Last Man Standing
We Weren't Born to Follow
You Give Love a Bad Name
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen from Mars
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Runaway
When We Were Beautiful
Superman Tonight
We Got It Going On
Bad Medicine w/ Hot Legs [Rod Stewart cover]
It's My Life
Homebound Train [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Hallelujah [Leonard Cohen cover]
Miss Fourth of July
Squeeze Box [The Who cover]
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Have a Nice Day
Work for the Working Man
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Love's the Only Rule
Here's the set from Bon Jovi's first show in Connecticut. "Radio Saved My Life Tonight" made its tour debut, as did The Who's "Squeeze Box" technically (They did play it at the WMMR pre-show gig in Philadelphia). "Never Say Goodbye" got an outing and interestingly, "Love's the Only Rule" was omitted for the first time this tour. Jeff Kazee of the Asbury Jukes, who toured with Bon Jovi on the Have a Nice Day tour and has played with Jon's solo band, also joined Bon Jovi on stage.
UNCASVILLE, USA - MOHEGAN SUN ARENA - MARCH 26, 2010
Happy Now
We Weren't Born to Follow
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
In These Arms
Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen from Mars
Radio Saved My Life Tonight
When We Were Beautiful
Superman Tonight
We Got It Going On
Bad Medicine w/ Roadhouse Blues
It's My Life
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
(You Want to) Make a Memory
Never Say Goodbye [acoustic]
Squeeze Box [The Who cover]
Something for the Pain [acoustic]
Runaway
Work for the Working Man
Who Says You Can't Go Home
.